Episode 14

“You two… you’re Christian’s friends, right? But what happened to your faces?”

The friends swallowed hard and hurriedly explained.

“We tried to stop Christian from doing something wrong, but he assaulted us.”

“…What wrong thing are you talking about?”

“He was drunk… he killed the servant who was attending to him and dumped the body in the river.”

“!!”

Count Cazar’s face went pale as he staggered.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it’s the truth. We’re sorry! We tried to stop Christian, but we were no match for him.”

Count Cazar covered his face with his hands.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Unnoticed by others, Butler Cox exchanged glances with Christian’s friends.

‘Well done.’

Everything was going exactly as Butler Cox had planned.

But why did the friends flinch and avoid eye contact?

Though it seemed strange, Butler Cox was too thrilled by the fact that Christian had been completely ruined to think much about it.

‘Since I ended Christian as ordered by “that person,” I’m going to receive a huge reward now.’

That person.

Butler Cox hid a sly grin.

Feigning concern, he spoke to Count Cazar.

“…What should we do with the young master? This matter won’t be easy to overlook.”

Count Cazar spoke gravely.

“Bring Christian to the Mine court. I will exercise the right of summary judgment.”

---

Christian was immediately brought before the court.

All the key figures of the Count’s household gathered in the courtroom.

“The young master has arrived.”

The Mines escorted Christian in.

But those who saw Christian were puzzled.

He looked far too clean and composed.

There was no sign of drunkenness, nor the reckless debauchery he had shown just moments before.

Rather…

‘He looks like he’s come to his senses.’

Some of the Mines thought.

Count Cazar clenched his teeth and asked Christian.

“…Is it true that you committed murder?”

Christian looked at Count Cazar before answering.

His eyes were clear, as if he had returned to his old self.

“No, it’s not true.”

A firm denial.

Count Cazar’s pupils flickered.

“Are you lying? There are witnesses who saw it clearly.”

“Witnesses? Who are you referring to?”

Christian’s friends, standing in the witness box, stepped forward, their faces pale.

“We… it was us.”

“Count, may I ask something? Are these testimonies reliable? I mean, is there any evidence to back them up?”

Count Cazar was struck dumb.

“There are witnesses who saw you lead the servant to a secluded place.”

He hadn’t just heard the testimonies.

He had investigated the circumstances separately and confirmed that after Christian took the victim to a secret location, the victim disappeared.

“Hmm. It seems there’s some misunderstanding.”

Christian shrugged and then said behind him,

“Bring them in.”

“!!”

At that moment, another figure appeared in the courtroom, and Butler Cox’s eyes widened in shock.

The girl who was supposedly killed by Christian and dumped in the river was standing there, perfectly fine!

“Ah, no?”

“What’s going on?”

The girl’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“The young master felt sorry for me and gave me money, telling me to leave quietly so no one would find out. He didn’t harm me at all.”

“I see.”

Christian smirked.

“So, what do you make of this?”

Everyone was stunned.

His innocence had been proven so cleanly it was almost absurd.

All eyes turned to the friends who had given false testimony.

“If I’m innocent, there can only be one reason for all this commotion.”

Christian said coldly.

“They conspired to frame me.”

“!!”

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

Count Cazar shouted angrily.

“Kneel those scoundrels!”

“W-we…!! Ugh!!!”

The Mines roughly forced the friends to their knees.

Their faces were ashen as they swallowed back tears.

They had tried to slander the Count’s son, so now their lives were forfeit.

There was no way out for them.

But they had no choice.

‘We didn’t want to do this!’

In truth, this was all a staged act orchestrated by Christian.

They had carried out these actions under his orders.

But they couldn’t refuse.

The Mark of Binding.

The curse Christian had placed forced their actions.

Under that curse, they had no will of their own and were compelled to speak.

“We… we were just following orders.”

“Orders?”

“Yes. We were instructed to slander the young master. Sob.”

Count Cazar’s eyes burned with rage.

“Who is the bastard behind this?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the friends.

They looked up, trembling, at one person.

Someone whose face was as pale and shocked as theirs.

“Butler Cox.”

“!!”

Everyone was stunned.

The accusation was completely unexpected.

Especially Count Cazar, who looked dazed.

Butler Cox had served the Count’s household for a long time.

He was so trusted that when the Count led the knights to battle, Cox was entrusted with managing the household affairs.

And yet, the very person he trusted had orchestrated this?

Butler Cox jumped up, vehemently denying it.

“This is an absurd accusation! No, this… this must be a cruel prank by the young master and his friends! Young master, to think you’d stoop to such a terrible joke!”

Cox had quickly realized this was Christian’s doing.

He bared his teeth and reacted fiercely.

“I have cared for the young master all this time! To try to pin such a false accusation on me! No matter how wild the young master is, there are limits to what’s acceptable!”

‘I have to insist this is the wild young master’s fault somehow!’ Cox thought desperately.

It was a plausible defense.

He had built trust over many years, but that wild young master was always distrusted by others.

If he insisted hard enough, he could pin the blame on Christian’s misdeeds.

But Cox faltered.

Christian’s gaze was unwavering.

As if he had anticipated Cox’s reaction.

And he had.

Christian thought to himself,

‘Did you really think I wouldn’t expect you to act like this?’

“Count, as the victim in this case, may I request one thing?”

Christian addressed Count Cazar formally.

“…What is it?”

“May I, on your behalf, interrogate Butler Cox directly?”

Interrogate.

He wanted to question Cox about the matter himself.

Count Cazar was silent for a moment.

‘…What on earth?’

He looked at Christian’s face.

He didn’t trust his son.

That was natural.

But still…

What was with that look?

That arrogantly confident gaze that shook his heart.

Count Cazar made an incomprehensible decision.

“…Very well, I leave it to you.”

“Count!”

Butler Cox exclaimed in surprise.

“However, if you act or speak inappropriately, your authority will be revoked immediately.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Christian grinned.

“I’ll be done quickly.”

Everyone watched Christian with bewildered eyes.

“On behalf of the great ruler of the Magic Empire, His Majesty the Demon Emperor, and as the proxy of Count Cazar, lord of the eastern wing of the southern magic nation’s dark mages, I will question the defendant.”

Hearing Christian’s words, people couldn’t help but be impressed.

He had no experience conducting trials, yet his opening statement was precise.

“Defendant Cox, do you swear to tell only the truth in response to this court’s questions?”

“…I swear.”

“As the Demon Emperor’s proxy, I ask again. Do you swear to answer only with the truth?”

“…I swear.”

Two solemn oaths.

Just the usual formalities before interrogation, but Christian’s lips curled into a meaningful smile.

“Then I ask you: Have you ever ordered others to slander this court?”

“No.”

“Can you swear to that?”

“…I can.”

“I ask again: Can you truly swear to that?”

Just as Cox was about to answer again, his eyes hardened.

‘What’s happening? I can’t speak?!’

An incomprehensible phenomenon.

He tried to answer, but his tongue wouldn’t move.

In his eyes, he saw Christian’s face.

Wearing the smile of a victor.

Cox instinctively realized this strange condition was connected to that wild young master.

“W-what… what have you… done to me…?”

“What do you mean? I’m just helping you tell the truth.”

Christian extended his hand, palm open.

“Didn’t you just swear to me that you would answer only with the truth?”

“!!”

The Mines’ faces filled with horror as they saw the pattern blooming on Christian’s palm.

“The Mark of Binding!!!”

A terrible curse black magic that could enslave a person under certain conditions!

A four-star black magic spell—how?

“No, it’s a bit different!”

“Could it be an enhanced version? Who would have done that?”

People couldn’t imagine that Christian had done it himself.

Enhancing a four-star black magic spell required a black mage of even higher rank.

Of course, Christian was an exception.

‘If you fully understand the principles of a spell, you can enhance it even at a lower rank. Though its power is much weaker.’

Christian smiled slyly.

The Mark of Binding was originally a black magic spell beyond his level to use properly.

First, there wasn’t enough magical energy, and the mastery of dark magic was lacking.

So he fixed it in his own way.

He drastically reduced the effect to lower the magic consumption, and strengthened the conditions under which the curse would take hold, allowing it to be used even without full mastery.

The result of this modification was this very thing.

“It can force someone to carry out exactly what they swore to—twice.”

Chris’s improved Binding Seal wasn’t like a true binding seal that allowed complete control over the target.

It simply compelled the target to follow the exact terms of their oath.

But one oath alone wasn’t enough.

They had to swear twice.

That’s why this situation was set up.

Because when standing trial, it was customary to swear twice.

“Now that bastard can only answer my questions with the truth.”

Butler Cox’s face turned pale as he realized what was happening.

“T-this… can’t be.”

Butler Cox summoned his magical energy.

He was a third-rank mage who had reached a certain level of mastery himself.

He was trying to break the curse.

Crack—Chris’s curse trembled.

“How long can it hold? A minute or two?”

At best, it was a first-rank curse, so it wouldn’t last much longer than that.

But it didn’t matter.

One minute was more than enough time to force out every truth.